Contents of this area:

Pesticide Surveillance Program       Pesticide Education Materials       Pesticide Surveillance Program Publications       Pesticide Surveillance Program Links

Pesticide Surveillance Program Activities:

• Investigate and evaluate adverse health effects related to acute pesticide exposure (pesticide poisoning is a reportable condition in Louisiana);
• Record information from pesticide investigations into the pesticide surveillance database;
• Analyze pesticide exposure data;
• Write reports and articles highlighting findings from pesticide exposure data
• Implement intervention and outreach activities to prevent or reduce pesticide exposure.

For copies of the brochure What You Need to Know about Pesticides, and Your Health in Louisiana, call us at (888) 293-7020 or click here for an electronic version.

Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions about Pesticides.

Where Do We Get Reports of Pesticide Exposure?

Reports of pesticide exposure are received from several sources: complaints filed with Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Health-Related Pesticide Incident Report Program (HRPIR), Poison Control Center (PCC) calls, and reports from healthcare providers.

• The Health-Related Pesticide Incident Program;is a joint LDAF/SEET program established to investigate complaints of pesticide exposure. These joint investigations involve the collection and review of environmental and health data relevant to the incident.
  
  To file a Health-Related Pesticide Incident complaint, contact the LDAF Pesticide Hotline at (225) 925-3763 or visit LDAF's Pesticide Related Complaints website.

To view a report summarizing Health-Related Pesticide Incidents from 1999 through 2006, click here.

• The Louisiana Poison Control Center (PCC) receives calls from the general public and health care providers. The majority of calls involve an acute exposure to a toxic substance and the PCC’s primary function is to provide the caller with toxicologic and treatment information. The LA PCC sends all calls that involve pesticide exposure to SEET.  Depending on the nature and severity of the exposure, cases may be referred to LDAF for further investigation.
  
  

The Louisiana Poison Control can be reached at 1-800-222-1222.

• Healthcare providers are required by Louisiana Law to report all cases of pesticide exposure or poisoning to the Louisiana Office of Public Health.
• How to report cases of pesticide poisoning
• A list of reportable diseases in Louisiana can be found in this excerpt from Title 51. Public Health-Sanitary Code

How Do We Investigate Pesticide Exposures?

Case investigations typically involve the following:

• Interview with exposed persons;
• Review of relevant medical records and laboratory tests;
• Review of pesticide application records, pesticide labels and material safety and data sheets;
• Interview with pesticide applicator;
• Collection of environmental samples such as a residue sample or soil sample.

Based on the collected information, LDAF determines if a misapplication has occurred, and SEET evaluates the health effects associated with the pesticide exposure.

Examples of Investigated Pesticide Exposures:

• Two boys experienced nausea and vomiting after insecticides drifted into their front yard from an airplane application made to a neighboring cotton field next.
• Office workers developed upper respiratory irritation after their office building was fogged to kill fleas.
• An agricultural worker developed a skin rash after contact with pesticide residue on crops.

Data Analysis

Information collected during health-related pesticide incident investigations and case reports received from the Poison Control Center are entered into the Pesticide Surveillance database called SPIDER. SPIDER is searchable by a number of variables including parish, target crop, site of exposure, pesticide type, pesticide active ingredient, and demographic information. Analysis of SPIDER data is routinely conducted. Reports and articles using SPIDER data are included in reports and publications.

Pesticides and Schools

To protect children from pesticides during school hours, 31 states, including Louisiana, have adopted rules or regulations regarding the application of pesticides on or near school property. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry enforces regulations concerning school pesticide safety. For more information about pesticides and schools, visit LDAF's School Integrated Pest Management website.

For copies of the brochure What You Should Know about Pesticide Use in Louisiana Schools, call us at (888) 293-7020, or an electronic version can be downloaded from LDAF's School Integrated Pest Management website (it is at the bottom of the page and titled "IPM State Brochure").

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about Pesticides in LA Schools.

Registry of Pesticide Hypersensitive Individuals

In 1989, LDAF and SEET established the Registry of Pesticide Hypersensitive Individuals. The registry’s purpose is to enable hypersensitive individuals to receive prior notification of pesticide applications in the vicinity of their home. With prior notification, individuals can take necessary precautions to protect themselves from inadvertent pesticide exposure. There is no charge for inclusion on the registry, although a physician must certify that the registrant is hypersensitive to pesticides. The annually updated registry is provided to all licensed applicators and pest control operators (PCOs) in Louisiana. Applicators and PCOs are requested to notify registrants prior to making a pesticide application to a property within one hundred feet or adjacent to a registrant’s property. Notification by applicators and PCOs is voluntary and there is no penalty for non-compliance.

For more information on the registry or to obtain a hypersensitivity registry application, contact LDAF's Office of Pesticide and Environmental Programs at (225) 925-3763 or visit LDAF's Registry of Pesticide Hypersensitive Individuals website.